Health and Safety: Chapter 18 – Leave it Open
Maybe it has just become force of habit for the Doctor to leave doors unlocked. After all, I can't get into the TARDIS if he doesn't, I don't have a key. But, it might be a habit he needs to work on, the not locking things I mean. No, this situation isn't as bad as me being pulled out of the TARDIS and plummeting to my eventual death, not in the slightest, but it still could have been easily avoided if he had locked the door behind us when we came in. It really can be the small things in life that can make all the difference…
"I grabbed the uniform for you." I finally tell him, before picking up the garments in question and pushing them into his chest where his hands snap up to grab them.
"I gathered that much." He responds tepidly. "I was serious Clara; we were discussing health and safety. I was worried about your well being, your health, and you were worried about me getting spotted wearing this, my safety. We just, weren't using a lot of words in the discussion…"
Well that is the truth isn't it?
"No we weren't."
"No, we really weren't." He affirms again, tilting his head slightly.
"Thank you Doctor, we have very much established the principle now."
His expression shifts suddenly, eyes widening.
"What did you say?"
"I said thank you Doc-" His finger to my lips silences me.
"No, before that, what did you say?" He asks again, letting his finger fall back enough that I can speak.
"No we whhmm-" The finger cuts me off again.
"No, way before that, I am slow, remember? Even more so when I am… distracted… by… things... No, what I meant is that you said that the Etulians were talking about me, my clothing, which I would add is very sensible, but back to the point…"
"What is the point?" I ask, pulling his hand down from my face.
"Because if you think that they were talking about me, you also probably think that the girl they were talking about, the one they want, the one who 'cavorts' with me, you think they mean you don't you?"
"Yes."
His eyes narrow again, this time very much with concern as he leans in a little, bringing himself down to my level, one arm still holding the uniform where I shoved it into his chest while the other that had been used to silence me rests on my shoulder, eyes gauging my reaction to his next question.
"Why though, specifically, why? Yes, you fit the physical profile of the people they took, and if I am right about them tracking Artron energy, well you have that too, but why would you assume they want you? Why not Jenny?"
"Because I am the one who is 'brimming' with time energy."
"Clara, you were delirious with a fever and half lost in a memory when I said that."
And I felt like I was mad the second time I heard it… Talking to the madman's box…
"I may have been reminded." I hedge.
"How?"
"By the TARDIS…"
His mouth gapes open, not a bit of comprehension dawning on his face. Well, that is a first.
"She told me-"
"You spoke to the TARDIS?" His gasps out, tone and expression rising to question my sanity.
My lips knit together of their own accord and I nod firmly in answer.
"How?"
"When she knocked us out, she got in my head, told me I had absorbed so much time energy so quickly when I went into your time stream that she could channel it, like a power source, use it to speak to me…"
"That is impossible." He says with wonder.
"You both keep saying that about me and yet here we are."
"Yeah, here we are, you and m- wait." His face changes again, the light that had momentarily found his eyes dimming to a darker recognition. "The TARDIS, she said she used you as a power source?"
"Doctor?"
"If the Etulians can track Artron energy, maybe they think they can tap it themselves somehow, usually that would be useless, human time travellers never pick up enough to make it worth the while, but you…"
He sounds scared now, the 'if' at the beginning seems like it was more for my benefit than an indication of actual doubt. Maybe it was for his benefit too, softening what sounds like a terrible truth…
"Okay, human time travelers wouldn't be worthwhile, but why wouldn't you work? Why wouldn't they have tried this before? Any energy I have picked up is just because of your time stream isn't it? You're the one who has time travelled more than anyone else." I try to reason.
"But I did it the long way, lived all the centuries to go with it all, the energy has settled into me, it's part of me, they'd never be able to extract it, but you did it all in minutes, seconds possibly, it's not background radiation on you Clara, like I said, its brimming off of you, there is so much of it. If there was some way to harness it… well…"
Again, the 'if' seems added for my benefit.
"So they want me to somehow become a power source for their sun?"
"That is never going to happen." He swears as his face becomes dangerously serious.
"Becoming a sun wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to show me the stars…" I say quickly, sounding more scared than I wanted to.
He drops the uniform without a thought, pulling me against him, like he can keep me safe by embrace alone.
"You didn't say that Clara, Oswin did… but it won't happen. This time I am saving you."
"Well, put that on for a start then, I'm going to go see what Ria wanted and make sure the… elephant… hasn't trampled her." I tell him, pulling back somewhat reluctantly and heading for the door, only to be stopped by a hand on my elbow, a hand that slides down my arm and settles on the silk fabric still wrapped around my hand.
"Bowtie, you still have." He informs me, one pale eyebrow raised in question.
"I know I do."
"I'm not getting that back any time soon am I?"
"Even you have to wait for some things Doctor." I tell him cheekily, trying to lighten his mood again after our frightening realization. He trails his fingers lightly over the material before letting my hand go, shaking his head at me but grinning lopsidedly at the same time.
"Go make sure the elephant isn't hurting anyone else then." He tells me, turning to pick up the scattered bits of the clothing from where he dropped them on the floor.
Taking a couple of deep breathes, which admittedly come easier than they did a few minutes ago, I find my way back out the main room of the ward just beyond the sliding doors. Ria is sitting on a desk, fidgeting with her hands, alternating between tapping fingers impatiently off the wooden surface she is seated on and toying with the ends of her sleeves. Émeric is crouched beside her, sewing a long tear up the leg of her trousers, which had escaped my notice a few minutes ago.
"What are you up to?" I ask them as I approach.
"I am really sorry." She replies quickly instead of answering my question, making Émeric laugh and stop his work for a moment.
"Not really your fault. What happened to your trousers? I saw the wholes, but that is new."
"Slitting the pant leg was… the most agreeable way we found for me to get a better look at her leg and to dress it properly, and now I'm trying to fix it as best I can. I'm not used to stitching fabric." Émeric explains as he continues working.
"Well seamstress inexperience aside, this is an improvement over the last time you stitched something of mine." She grumbles at him.
He rolls his eyes in response.
"What happened last time?" I ask them, perching on the end of the same desk Ria is occupying, unwinding the Doctor's bowtie and letting it join his watch in my pocket. Émeric's mouth curves into what is half smirk and half embarrassed smile as Ria levels him with a glare.
"Last time involved knitting my skin back together, and my consumption of a considerable amount of Icabod Irving's whiskey, because last time someone let their case of syringes get trampled by a loose horse, which made simply freezing the afflicted area impossible." She sounds like she is only half teasing him at best.
"You had the option to pull me or the case out of the way, and you picked me." He reminds her, grinning broadly.
I'd thought she might have been talking a little more metaphorically when she mentioned not letting him get run over, but apparently not. Her mouth tightens into a neutral expression, effectively ending her part in the conversation. He sighs, picking up a pair of scissors to cut the thread from his needle, tying the ends off tightly.
"Second opinion Clara? I think this will hold, but what do I know?" He asks, standing up and stretching his legs. I am inspecting his handiwork when the Doctor joins us, holding his arms out and taking a few exaggerated steps. Aside from that, he looks oddly normal. Visibly, he doesn't look much older than Émeric does, and now they are dressed almost the same.
"From Joint Marshal to a mere Lieutenant, Doctor Smith, that is one hell of a demotion, what did you do to Clara to make her strip you of your title?" Émeric teases him.
"Um, well, sorry, need to borrow these for a bit." The Doctor tries to explain, face falling and blushing.
"After what Victoria tells me you did with the trees, a change of clothes is not much by way of a thank you, but if it helps, they are yours." Émeric replies with a surprising amount of earnestly, offering the Doctor his hand, shocking him when he pulls him into a one armed hug.
"Um, yes, well, you're welcome… Actually, extra favour to ask…" The Doctor replies, patting him on the back lightly. "I need to find my associates, I need to let them know what is going on, and also to get them to move my… equipment up here so it can come back to Bordure with us, I was hoping they could borrow some kind of vehicle to move it with?" He asks Émeric worriedly.
"We can probably spare something." Émeric replies thoughtfully.
"I can help them." Ria offers, lightly sliding off of the desk.
"No." The Doctor and Émeric and I all reply at the same time, startling one another.
"It's not a good idea for you to be out there right now Victoria." The Doctor explains, trying to show her with his face that there is more to his explanation that he will tell her later.
"Agreed, and even you should know better than to question the opinion of two medical professionals." Émeric tells her pointedly. "Doctor Smith, your associates are upstairs. They were looking after the young girl you rescued until her family could come in to get her. She seemed very fond of the small brown fellow, kept calling him 'Mr. Potato.' Luckily for her he seems oblivious to what she is referencing… I'll send them here, I need to check in with the Director anyways, ensure everyone that is leaving with you tomorrow, well later this morning, is preparing to go." He says, pulling a keychain from his pocket and placing it in Ria's hand.
"You're staying in my office. Blankets are in the bottom shelf of the cupboard with the plants, smallest silver key. And don't lock me out, okay?" Ria closes her hand around the key, and he seems to take her lack of protest as a good thing.
"Doctor Smith, the barrack rooms are at your disposal, last three doors on either side of the west wing. Get some rest; I am assuming that leather head- I mean Marshal MacEwan will be here at the crack of dawn." He says, giving us a bit of a salute as he exits through the sliding doors.
"Let's get you sorted then." I say to Ria, in what I hope was a kind tone, offering her my arm if she wants a bit of support walking, unsure of how steady she is on her feet at the moment. Inside the spacious office, she uses the key to unlock the cupboard, pulling out blankets that hopefully will make that examining bed a lot more comfortable than it looks.
She smiles a silent thanks when we are done, appearing a lot more tired than she had a little while ago.
I wish her a goodnight, and leave her to some well deserved sleep, finding the Doctor smiling in the doorframe.
"I was a nurse you know." I tell him as we wander towards the west wing.
"I expect several of your echoes were nurses Clara." He says fondly.
"Why would you expect that?"
"Because you are an incredibly compassionate person, you genuinely care about people, and you are brilliant, it would make a logical career path for an echo of yours." He replies.
A loud yawn escapes me as we come to the last few doors in the corridor. The Doctor pushes one open, which leads us to a square room, after flicking the light switch I am greeted by warm yellow wall paper, and two sets of bunk beds pressed against the far side of the room. Neither of them is made though, but there are sheets folded neatly beside them.
"I would rather not have you subject to the questions that are sure to follow me trying to explain this to the Paternoster residents, you want to sort this out and I will sort them out?" The Doctor asks me. I agree, fighting back another yawn.
"Try to wait for me to get back before you actually sleep if you can, okay?" He asks, gently kissing my temple. Again I agree, setting to work. We only need two beds, at this point I am willing to let Jenny or Vastra sort out their own room. A few minutes later, my small task accomplished, I sit down on the lower bunk, making sure to keep my back against the hard wall, trying to use the discomfort to keep myself awake…
Alain Cross thought this was it, her chance to leave the nightmare, to get away from Field Major Styre and his psychotic experimentations. She staggered forward, bleeding more than she would have liked from a wound she suffered in her escape attempt, trying desperately to find a way out. She was shocked at the sight of a man laying unconscious before her. He was incredibly tall, she could tell that even when he was sprawled on the ground, which meant that his brightly coloured scarf must have been miles long to wrap around his neck like that and still drape across his frame. Alain stopped to see if she could rouse him, he seemed incredibly familiar to her, important somehow… She shook him gently, hoping he would come around. Alain's heart felt like it stopped in her chest when she heard some of the small, spite filled guards approaching them. She took a deep breath, and made a decision. She would distract them, draw them off, help this man escape, if she did that, she had this feeling, one she couldn't understand, that he would somehow save her too. They would save each other, there was no sense to it but there was also no denying it either. So she ran, loudly, letting her footsteps draw the attention of the guards who came clattering after her, deftly striking the weak spot in the back of the armour of the Sontaran who tried to block her. She raced away, feeling dizzy, probably from loss of blood... Eventually, the weakness overtook her, and she collapsed. Instead of hitting the unforgiving floor though, she was cradled in a set of arms. She immediately thought that the tall scarf man must have woken up, because who else might care for her in a place like this? But when she turned to look at the person, she was greeted with sad, beautiful green eyes set into what she found to be an oddly attractive face. The chin was too big, but his smile when he looked at her more than made up for it. "Clara, I've got you." He told her assuredly. "We have to go, they'll kill us!" She replied in alarm, only to discover there were no Sontarans, there was no corridor- only black space. "Where am I?" She asked, suddenly feeling very lost. "You're with me Clara." He told her. "Who is Cla-" She stopped mid question, an impossible realization attempting to take hold in her mind... Terrified, she pushed the green eyed man away...
There is a dull thud and the sharp snap as the yellow walls around me come back into view, I'm still leaning up against the wall of the bunk, but the Doctor is nowhere to be seen… until I look down… and find him on the floor in a heap…
He scrapes himself up, putting on show of regaining his dignity.
"Um, maybe stop calling me Clara right away when you find me? I know you're trying to bring me back to myself, but it kind of freaks me out every time…" I suggest feebly.
"Okay… Does that mean I am allowed to help?" He replies quickly, tripping over his words like he is scared I will take back what I said. "I promise, I will not touch your memories or your thoughts if I can avoid it. Will you let me help with this?" He asks more slowly.
I swallow hesitantly, but nod my head, steadying myself and standing up.
"You're still scared though." He remarks sadly.
"Yes."
He doesn't say anything in reply, seemingly satisfied with my answer for now, or at least unwilling to push for more.
I had expected him to leap up to the top bed I had made or even to pull up a chair, he doesn't need much sleep, and he has gotten ten hours or so since we left Trenzalore. Instead though, he wedges himself into the bunk I had been sitting on, which is a tad too short for his lanky frame, and then looks at me expectedly to join him… It is a tight fit, I am basically on top of him, but that, that is alright really…
"Okay, maybe bunk beds aren't cool." He says, like he just lost a long standing argument.
"What now?" I ask sleepily.
"I thought the ladder made bunk beds cool, but I am re-evaluating that theory right now..." He mutters quietly, hand beginning to stroke my hair, lulling me into a peaceful doze…
A/N: Well that was long, and although there wasn't a lot of action so to speak, quite a bit happened… This is later than I wanted it to be coming, and the next part will be as well. For that I am sorry! Thank you very much for the reviews, I really appreciate hearing from you all!